Hidden Heart
by Kigai Uchida
Summary: If you threaten a loved one, it could very well wind up with your head on the ground...no matter what.


**This is another one of my awesome friend's stories, but this one he had written all by himself! So, please, review and give comments for corrections, additions, take-outs, and whether or not he should write more to this story. Hope you like it! Thanks!**

The pale disc hung high in the silent, star-filled sky, reflecting its mirror light upon the two frightened silhouettes. From three surrounding sides stalked three others with intimidating smiles. Protecting the girl in his arms, the surrounded boy tightened his grip around her waist as he cautiously watched the large men's movements. His muscular arms tingled worriedly when he felt her shiver in fright and cold, reflexively draping his heavy leather jacket over her slender shoulders. Glinting Ruby red eyes glared defensively as the men drew closer and closer. Dark blue hair brushed against soft, rosy pink locks, whispering to the girl that everything would be alright.

"What do you want with her?" the brave lad spoke to the darkness. The street lamps had long-since burned out and the moon wasn't bright enough to illuminate the three others who hid within the buildings' shadows. The power of his eyesight allowed him to monitor their motions, but they had run him down, depleted his energy, and now the icy cold wind that blew in from the passing storm stung his eyes. Inhaling the wet-dog scent of the air, he twisted his head to the right and listened to one of the large men speak.

"Zack Lukos," the man began, chuckling in the process. "And here I thought you were quick to figure things out. I guess I was wrong about that." His deep, cave-echoing voice bounced off the building walls, creating a ventriloquist effect: his voice sounding like he was in several places at once. "You don't quite understand Myuu's…what shall I call it…potential."

Zack sensed that they had taken yet another step closer. Damn. _'How am I supposed to get out of this situation without hurting anybody?'_ he thought. Clenching a fist, he tried to talk his way out of it. "I already know that a Myuu has the ability to transform into a one-of-a-kind breed of cat. Now, if you would just tell me what is going on, I will fix this myself." His body stiffened when a hideous half of a face stared through him directly across his gaze.

The other half was hidden within the shadows, but the visible half seemed distorted from the angles of dark and light that danced upon it. The gaping, battered eye socket clung to four mangled, rotten, decaying, fleshy strands of what used to connect to an eyeball. They dangled and swayed in the frosty breeze, turning over Zack's stomach at a glance. Then, the wind slowly changed course to his direction, carrying with it the vomit-inducing scent of burning a thousand corpses. "Hahaha! Do you honestly think I'm after that?" The man laughed, stepping out into the full view of the moon; comrades mimicked movements. "Hand her over or we'll take her by force."

'_There's only one way to escape now…and that's to release Him.' _Zack thought grudgingly. Just as the men were about to strike with their double-bladed swords, an eerie and glittering black aura swirled around his now-standing body, hair covering his ruby eyes in a shadow.

"What the hell is he doing?" one of the other thugs asked the leader, backing up with his sword raised higher.

Furry grey ears grew out from the top of Zack's head, and bushy grey tail from the back of his jeans with a loud rip. His canine teeth instantly grew razor sharp and poked their way out of his grimacing mouth while strange black markings crawled all over his body as if they were alive. "Myuu isn't the only one with certain abilities…" Zack growled his body hunched over in power-hungry pain. Suddenly lunging to his left, he caught the silent thug by the throat with his fangs, his arms pulling back the thug's as far as they could go without breaking, one leg positioned in the middle of the thug's back ready at any time to snap his spine in half like a soggy cracker.

"No! No! Please don't kill me! I have a son to go back to!" Thug sobbed helplessly. His life could end at any given time.

"Hehe…that's funny," Zack grinned. "So do I." Six snaps: neck, arms, back, and legs. The head noisily rolled away from the limp body, trailing thick blood after it. Said body sizzled with decay as the remaining blood bubbled up to the surface, leaking through the skin. Half the sword he once held was speared through his stomach, draining even more blood straight onto the cold pavement. The other half was drilled into both broken legs.

The leader dropped his sword as he backed up into the darkness once more. "He's mad. He's a monster. Where on earth did he claim so much power?" He vanished.

Myuu had been crying, huddled to the ground, praying that the men would go away and she and Zack could live in peace again. Pulling her tear-soaked hair from her eyes, she gasped in horror. She had never seen so much blood in her life. One body had every bone broken and two swords plunged into its legs and stomach. Another body had been chewed up, clawed at, and tossed carelessly aside with greasy sewer rats crawling around it, nibbling on any remaining bloody organs. She finally spotted Zack's body propped uprightly against a bloody side of a stone wall, self-inflicted claw, tooth, and blade wounds covered his entire body.

"I'm so sorry!" Myuu wailed in depression and grief. "This was my entire fault! I should have never dragged you into this!" Her rose pink hair damped against the open, bloody wounds mixed with tears. She suddenly heard soft breathing and his stomach inflate. "Oh, you're alive!"

"I'm sorry…if I hurt you…" Zack whispered with a gurgling sound in his throat. "But I'm…fine…really…" His dimmed eyes slowly closed and grey ears sluggishly drooped. "Don't worry about me…"

~end of part one~


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